AUTHOR=Ching Constance , Sethi Vani , Clark David Lawson , Yeong Joo Kean , Shats Katherine , Murira Zivai , Aminee Ahmadwali , Rowel Dhammica , Khan Golam Mohiuddin , Ahmed Khadheeja , Dorji Kinley , Iqbal Mazhar , Faisal Muhammad , Singh Phulgendra Prasad , Shuja Saba 

TITLE=Monitoring and enforcement of Code-based legal measures to protect breastfeeding in South Asia: opportunities and bottlenecks

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1412946

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2025.1412946

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=ObjectiveTo examine the bottlenecks and opportunities associated with Code monitoring and enforcement at the national level in the eight countries of South Asia region (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka).DesignData was collected following a workshop-as-research methodology. Deductive content analysis was used to review, categorize, and analyze data. A semi-structured categorization matrix containing three main categories (background, opportunities, and bottlenecks) was developed as a guide for categorizing data on areas relevant to monitoring and enforcement.FindingsOverarching themes in bottlenecks include: (1) There is insufficient monitoring across countries, (2) Monitoring is not well-integrated into relevant enforcement mechanisms, as there is a lack of established system to efficiently ‘feed’ monitoring findings to the designated enforcement agencies, (3) Uncertainty regarding enforcement in the context of digital marketing, (4) Lack of coordination and collaboration regarding enforcement, (5) Inadequate sanctions and penalties, sometimes due to a lack of identified legal structure and adjudication system and functional administrative or enforcement mechanisms. Overarching themes in opportunities include: (1) Product registration or licensing as entry points for monitoring and enforcement, (2) authority provided in legal measures for designated agencies to carry out monitoring and enforcement actions, (3) civil society as government partners in monitoring including developing monitoring tools and strengthening systems to integrate monitoring with enforcement. Inadequately imposed.